3DS are region-locked, so simply swapping out the boards from a normal 3DS to an XL 3DS wouldn’t work would also like to play US games on his modded console. Sure, the enclosure is different, but electronically there are really only two changes: the eMMC storage and the Nintendo processor. In manufacturing the XL and non-XL versions of the 3DS, Nintendo didn’t change much on the PCBs. His solution? Creating a US non-XL 3DS with god-like soldering skills. didn’t want the jumbo-sized New 3DS XL, both because it’s too large for his pockets, and because there are no fancy cases for the XL. You can buy the XL version anywhere in the world, but Nintendo fans in North America cannot buy the normal version. The new 3DS comes in two sizes: normal and XL. Around two years ago, Nintendo announced the New Nintendo 3DS, with a faster processor and a few other refinements. For the last five years or so, Nintendo has been selling the 3DS, the latest in a long line of handheld consoles.